Boat loans – how long?

[biffdotorg]

There is a lot better looking models of Pontoons with swim platforms coming...

I would agree with that. Our local dealer started dealing with the Monterra Surf toons/deck boats.

But honestly, we were hanging out in a cove on our swimplatform, or in swim saddles loving our boat. I told my wife flat out, that if a toon could give this near water experience, I would be all over it. That one above is as close as I have seen a swim platform to the water. You are just so far above the water.

I'm thinking something hydraulic. Probably from the guys that make SeaLegs. We have sealegs on the current tritoon on our dock, and they rule.

 

[HangOutdoors]

@Beachbummer That is the crux of it. If you use the boat a lot in the first year and then after that you don't it becomes hard to swallow the ADDED expense! Sooner or later your boat becomes a proverbial boat anchor and a hole to throw money into.

 

[the MfM]

After ten years the value of a boat will vary greatly depending on how well it was taken care of.

 

[Jim_in_Delaware]

Like 90% of the used boat sales over the past 18 months. There are gonna be a lot of pissed off owners next year if they decide to sell their lightly used boat when it has depreciated at a very abnormal amount. It's going to be very interesting to see. And with some financial institutions already anticipating this bubble burst, you can see them stopping any more lending for these inflated products. They have to be profitable with safe investments as well.

This has puzzled me for a while, that during COVID, many folks are paying above MSRP (for both new and used boats) yet financial institutions seem to have loaned most, if not all, of the sales price.

Jim

 

[Quad]

@biffdotorg - one of the marinas near us is selling Montara surfboats now. They look like a pontoon up top but have a monohull with V drive. They look neat for space and whatnot but one of the things I can't abide with pontoons in general is the fact that in heavy seas, your chances of stuffing the bow are substantially higher than a boat with actual gunwales.

 

[2kwik4u]

I keep telling my wife that, and she keeps telling me, we have all the boat we need, and our next will be a tritoon. I said, when a tritoon gets a swimplatform, I am in. And Bennington, said. "HOLD MY BEER BIFF"

I seriously just spit out my soft drink. Funniest thing I've read all day. Also wildly accurate. TriToons are really nice anymore if you can swing the cash up front to get a nice one. Honestly no more expensive than a 24ft Yamaha though.

Biggest issue I have with one is how it tows like a sail. I can just hear the gas pump for the tow vehicle clicking over now

As to the finanace question by OP.....I went no money down and 15yr loan. I do this for flexibility. And it saved my butt when I lost a job at the end of 2017, and had a year of super wonky income flows and about a 30% cut in pay as I scrambled to get back to where I was. I went from paying $5-600/mo on the boat, to the minimum $298/mo that I had to make to keep it in the garage. I'm back to the higher payment now, and I'm chunking it down quickly, but that flexibility saved my butt. I can be upside down in terms of equity on something WAY WAY longer than I can make a high payment/short term loan work if/when the fit hits the shan..........it's all about personal choice though.

 

[Jim_in_Delaware]

As to the finanace question by OP.....I went no money down and 15yr loan. I do this for flexibility. And it saved my butt when I lost a job at the end of 2017, and had a year of super wonky income flows and about a 30% cut in pay as I scrambled to get back to where I was. I went from paying $5-600/mo on the boat, to the minimum $298/mo that I had to make to keep it in the garage. I'm back to the higher payment now, and I'm chunking it down quickly, but that flexibility saved my butt. I can be upside down in terms of equity on something WAY WAY longer than I can make a high payment/short term loan work if/when the fit hits the shan..........it's all about personal choice though.

This isn't a concern of mine this late into my career, but it is a very interesting point and I can see how helpful this option would be.

Talking about tritoons, I actually gave serious consideration to a 22' Bennington SX Series tritoon (one of their less expensive models) with a 115 hp Yamaha and I priced out in the 50's for the options I wanted. If I was lake boating, or maybe calmer bay areas, I would serious consider this boat. OTOH, for about the same money, I could get a SX250/AR250

Jim

 

[biffdotorg]

@biffdotorg - one of the marinas near us is selling Montara surfboats now. They look like a pontoon up top but have a monohull with V drive. They look neat for space and whatnot but one of the things I can't abide with pontoons in general is the fact that in heavy seas, your chances of stuffing the bow are substantially higher than a boat with actual gunwales.

I hear ya, that's a non issue in Central MN lakes. That's why they are taking over around here. And the Tritoon we use now, is way better at handling waves with that Bennington oval center toon. It can still happen.

 

[biffdotorg]

I seriously just spit out my soft drink. Funniest thing I've read all day. Also wildly accurate. TriToons are really nice anymore if you can swing the cash up front to get a nice one. Honestly no more expensive than a 24ft Yamaha though.

Biggest issue I have with one is how it tows like a sail. I can just hear the gas pump for the tow vehicle clicking over now

I hear ya on that one. We towed out 242LS back from South Carolina 1700 miles. You know it's back there for sure, but the truck did well. I tow my buddies 23' Bennington, and it's a sail. I'm very fortunate that our boats are towed minimally anymore, as they stay in the water now.

It is no question that pontoons/tritoons are meant to be slipped, or on a lift, as none are sold standard with a trailer in MN. Always the option. And the newer 10ft beams with twin outboards require a permit to be towed down highways in MN (like a 275, it varies from state to state)

 

[biffdotorg]

This isn't a concern of mine this late into my career, but it is a very interesting point and I can see how helpful this option would be.

Talking about tritoons, I actually gave serious consideration to a 22' Bennington SX Series tritoon (one of their less expensive models) with a 115 hp Yamaha and I priced out in the 50's for the options I wanted. If I was lake boating, or maybe calmer bay areas, I would serious consider this boat. OTOH, for about the same money, I could get a SX250/AR250

Jim

We are very fortunate to have both on the end of our dock. But I have to say, the over the top Benningtons are just plain crazy. The motors alone are worth more than the most expensive Yamaha boat. The guys at River Valley (Yamaha dealers) have the latest Bennington QX series, 10ft wide with a pair of Merc 450R or Yamaha 425hp. Your choice! A single 250hp, will keep it under $200K OUCH! Twin 300's just under $250K if you don't mind used, but those are discontinued Evinrudes. (like that's a bad thing)

 

[2kwik4u]

@biffdotorg - one of the marinas near us is selling Montara surfboats now. They look like a pontoon up top but have a monohull with V drive. They look neat for space and whatnot but one of the things I can't abide with pontoons in general is the fact that in heavy seas, your chances of stuffing the bow are substantially higher than a boat with actual gunwales.

Holy smokes......Starting at $100k. Neat looking boat, but oof that's high for me.

If you're on any kind of wave having lake, then even the highest riding tri-toons aren't for you. Although I promise it'll never sink because the scupper valve broke, and the decks are pretty much inherently self bailing

 

[2kwik4u]

We are very fortunate to have both on the end of our dock. But I have to say, the over the top Benningtons are just plain crazy. The motors alone are worth more than the most expensive Yamaha boat. The guys at River Valley (Yamaha dealers) have the latest Bennington QX series, 10ft wide with a pair of Merc 450R or Yamaha 425hp. Your choice! A single 250hp, will keep it under $200K OUCH! Twin 300's just under $250K if you don't mind used, but those are discontinued Evinrudes. (like that's a bad thing)

Man that's an interesting back deck area. Are those elliptical toons? I've seen U shaped, and of course round, Even seen the center larger than the sides (Manitou does this to make it act like a hull), but never seen "horizontal ellipsis" before.

 

[biffdotorg]

Man that's an interesting back deck area. Are those elliptical toons? I've seen U shaped, and of course round, Even seen the center larger than the sides (Manitou does this to make it act like a hull), but never seen "horizontal ellipsis" before.

Yes, depending on model. My buddies Bennington has an elliptical center toon, and the big guys will have three elliptical toons. The cornering is quite incredible. And it does allow the boat to get up on plane. quicker. It's called ESP or Elliptical Sport Package. Along with lifting strakes it's pretty sick.

This additional boyancy reduces the subs, and also increases the capacity for SeaLegs, passengers and monster outboards. Similar length pontoons will have nowhere near the hp capacity. And they would be quite dangerous in my eyes, no being able to bank corners.

Back to the topic, to buy our dreamboat, it would need a toilet on board, as it would then qualify for a 30 year mortgage. But decorum does not allow me to share the type of excitement I feel when I look at this pic!! Yamaha owners understand.

 

[the MfM]

It’s time to bring the jetoon to market.

@Yamaha

 

[biffdotorg]

It’s time to bring the jetoon to market.

@Yamaha

Ya, we have had the conversation on here once before. I think none of us came up with any advantage whatsoever to put jet engines in a pontoon.

I will have to admit, the Yamaha outboards on a toon are perfect match. Quiet, stupid easy to service and very fuel efficient. Aside from that shallow water argument and not training kids to stay away from a prop, there is no reason to make a jet toon. I would be way happier with the configuration above on a boat made by someone that knows toons.

Although, Suncatcher pontoons, are owned by G3, which are owned by Yamaha. So in a sense, they do make toons.
Home - SunCatcher Pontoons

 

[2kwik4u]

Ya, we have had the conversation on here once before. I think none of us came up with any advantage whatsoever to put jet engines in a pontoon.

I will have to admit, the Yamaha outboards on a toon are perfect match. Quiet, stupid easy to service and very fuel efficient. Aside from that shallow water argument and not training kids to stay away from a prop, there is no reason to make a jet toon. I would be way happier with the configuration above on a boat made by someone that knows toons.

Although, Suncatcher pontoons, are owned by G3, which are owned by Yamaha. So in a sense, they do make toons.
Home - SunCatcher Pontoons

I thought we came up with an awesome rear deck.......then Biff at Bennington held some other guys beer and we lost our competitive advantage!

 

[mwalker4]

@Beachbummer That is the crux of it. If you use the boat a lot in the first year and then after that you don't it becomes hard to swallow the ADDED expense! Sooner or later your boat becomes a proverbial boat anchor and a hole to throw money into.

Sitting next to your RV and your new Peleton bike.

 

[HangOutdoors]

You got it But in my case they are the power tools that machines I don't use anymore.

 

[mwalker4]

As @2kwik4u said, you can stretch out your loan for flexibility or using your cash for investments. But IMHO, if you need a 15 year loan to make it work you could be buying too much boat. If I lived in the deep south I might feel differently.

 

[Quad]

Sitting next to your RV and your new Peleton bike.

Bingo.

We've had family discussions about both an RV and a Peloton. Admiral got a trainer to put her bike on instead and it gets used... sometimes. If one's really into it, they're going to use what they have to the max and upgrade because they've outgrown it. Definitely not the case in our home, but it does help get some movement in the colder seasons.

As for the RV, that discussion is more pragmatic - we really would like to do that sort of travel, but our time constraints don't allow for weeks of meandering; additionally, we have the same problem we already have with Boaty McBoatFace - where will we store it?